NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Here are tonight’s NHL predictions and best bets.
San Jose Sharks at Montreal Canadiens (-210)
San Jose (+170) at Montreal (-210) – Total 6.5 (Over, -120)
7 p.m. ET
The Sharks come into Montreal off a 3-1 loss at Toronto on Monday night and now face the Canadiens in the second half of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights. Montreal is coming off a 4-3 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday as Mr. Saturday Night, Cole Caufield, scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner. Three of Montreal’s four wins this season have been either in overtime or a shootout, and the Sharks have needed to go past regulation in each of their four wins this season.
I get that this may not be a great scheduling spot for San Jose being on the second half of a back-to-back (and three games in four days), but with the Canadiens having yet to win a game this season in regulation, the value is with the Sharks, who swept the two games from Montreal last season. With goalie Yaroslav Askarov getting the start in Toronto on Monday, Alex Nedeljkovic will be between the pipes for San Jose tonight, and he has won his last four starts against the Habs.
On to the player props. San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini, who was held off the scoresheet on Monday, has nine points in four games against the Canadiens and three or more shots on goal (3, 7, 4, 4) in each of the four games. He also has two goals in two games against Montreal starting goalie Jakub Dobes. Collin Graf has points in all four games he has faced the Habs, including a goal in three of them, including two on Dobes. Mason Marchment has six assists in his last six games versus Montreal.
On the Montreal side, Caufield has four goals in his last six games against the Sharks and has had 3+ shots on goal against San Jose in five of his last seven and six of his last eight games overall.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
San Jose Sharks team total over 2.5 (-118) – ½ unit
San Jose Sharks money line (+170) – ¼ unit
Cole Caufield/Macklin Celebrini 3+ shots on goal each (+108) – 2 units
Macklin Celebrini 2+ points (+200) – ½ unit
Macklin Celebrini anytime goal (+160) – ¼ unit
Collin Graf anytime goal (+700) – .10 units
Mason Marchment assist (+200) – .10 units
Cole Caufield anytime goal (+115) – ¼ unit
Regulation draw (+370) – .10 units
Colorado Avalanche at New Jersey Devils
Colorado (-110) at New Jersey (-110) – Total 6.5 (Under, -120)
7 p.m. ET
The Avs laid an egg on Monday night in Philadelphia, losing 3-2 to the Flyers. Since winning their first two games of the season, Colorado has traded wins and losses over their past seven games. If the pattern continues (I believe it will), then the Avalanche will come away victorious tonight. Former Devils goalie MacKenzie Blackwood gets the start in goal for the Avs, and he is 2-0-0 in his career against the Devils, stopping 79 of 80 shots.
The Devils have won four of their eight games this season, but their wins have come against the Flyers, Canucks, Red Wings and Rangers while their losses have come versus the Islanders, Capitals, Mammoth and Senators. The Devils have been outscored 19-5 in their four losses (giving up 4+ goals in all four games). Two of their four wins (Flyers and Wings) needed overtime.
Something about the Devils gets the offensive juices flowing for Nathan MacKinnon. The “Mac Attack” has five goals, seven points, four power-play goals, five power-play points and 15 shots on goal in his past three head-to-head meetings with Jersey. Two of the three games were multi-goal and multi-power-play-goal games. Artturi Lehkonen has five goals in nine games versus Devils starting goalie Jake Allen. Brock Nelson has six goals in 10 games against Allen.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Colorado Avalanche money line (-110) – 1 unit
Colorado Avalanche team total Over 3.5 (+120) – 1 unit
Nathan MacKinnon 4+ shots on goal (-125) – ½ unit
Nathan MacKinnon 2+ points (+135) – ½ unit
Nathan MacKinnon Over ½ power play point (+165) – ¼ unit
Artturi Lehkonen anytime goal (+230) – ¼ unit
Brock Nelson anytime goal (+305) – ¼ unit
Colorado Avalanche ML/Dallas Stars-Boston Bruins Under 6.5 (+210) – ½ unit
Anaheim Ducks at New York Rangers
Anaheim (+125) at N.Y. Rangers (-150) – Total 6 (Under, -115)
7 p.m. ET
The Ducks are coming off a 5-2 loss at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, and if I knew then what I know now, I would have been all over the Rangers and not played Anaheim to win the game on Monday. Mechanical issues with their airplane turned a five-hour flight into a 15-hour travel day on Sunday for the Ducks, and they looked like they had absolutely nothing to give against the Rangers. “There’s many of them over the years,” Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said of challenging travel days. “Usually you get a good response when something like that happens. That’s the disturbing part.” Quenneville added it looked like some of his players were “playing with a cane instead of a hockey stick.” The loss extended the Ducks’ losing streak to three games.
The Islanders have played eight games this season and continue to trade wins and losses. That puts the Isles on schedule to lose tonight as they are coming off a 4-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday in Toronto.
A couple of props that have caught my eye. Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier leads the team in shots on goal and has had 4+ shots on goal in five of his seven games. The Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer has had 3+ shots on goal in five consecutive games and four shots on goal or more in four of his last five games. The Isles’ Brayden Schenn has three goals on eight shots (37.5 shooting percentage) versus Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Cutter Gauthier/Matthew Schaefer 3+ shots on goal each (+117) – 2 units
Cutter Gauthier/Matthew Schaefer 4+ shots on goal each (+322) – ½ unit
Brayden Schenn anytime goal (+300) – .10 units
Los Angeles Kings at Washington Capitals
Los Angeles (+135) at Washington (-160) – Total 5.5 (Over, -120)
7 p.m. ET
The Kings are the only remaining team without a win and have scored just one goal in each of their last four games. The Caps are coming off back-to-back wins (5-4, 4-2) and have scored four or more goals and covered the puck line (-1.5 goals) in four of their five wins this season.
The Kings have lost each of their last four trips to the nation’s capital and have lost five of six and nine of 12 overall to the Caps. So why is Washington only a -160 favorite? I think this number should be closer to -180. This could be a “sandwich game” for the Caps, like my line of thinking was when they lost 5-3 to Seattle at home on October 9. The Capitals are coming off games against Montreal, Carolina and New Jersey, and after tonight they have two more Eastern Conference opponents with Buffalo and Philadelphia. I am tempted to play Washington on the puck line (-1.5, +156).
On to some Capitals player props. Alex Tuch is coming off back-to-back three-shots-on-goal games, and he has had 4+ shots on goal in six of his last eight games against the Kings. Ryan Leonard has had 2+ shots on goal in all eight games this season and 19 of his last 20 games going back to last season. He has faced the Kings twice in his career and cashed his Over 1.5 shots on goal prop in both games. Boone Jenner has registered two shots on goal or more in seven of eight games this season and in six straight versus the Kings.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Alex Tuch/Ryan Leonard/Boone Jenner 2+ shots on goal each (+218) – 2 units
Alex Tuch 3+ shots on goal (+118) – ½ unit
Alex Tuch 4+ shots on goal (+290) – ¼ unit
Ryan Leonard 2+ shots on goal (-188) -1 unit
Boone Jenner 2+ shots on goal (-155) – 1 unit
Washington Capitals -1.5 goals (+156) – ½ unit
Toronto Maple Leafs at Columbus Blue Jackets
Toronto (+135) at Columbus (-160) – Total 6.5 (Under, -115)
7 p.m. ET
Kirill Marchenko returns to Columbus for the first time since the Blue Jackets traded him to Toronto just before the start of the season. “I respect what he wants to do, but as a team, we have to move on from that,” Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier said after the swap. “We have to move on from guys who don’t want to be here.”
Matthew Knies, who was the return for Marchenko, scored a pair of goals in his Jackets debut but has not scored in six games since and, other than an assist in his second game, he has gone five games without a point. It would not surprise me to see his Columbus teammates trying to create opportunities for him to score tonight, and I will be on his shots-on-goal prop (Over 1.5, -140).
Marchenko has four goals in 10 games with the Leafs, but three of those came in a 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo. He has not been shy about shooting the puck. He has had at least two shots on goal in nine of his 10 games this season. Teammate William Nylander has also been shooting the puck a lot. He has recorded 3+ shots on goal in five of his last six games and in each of his past four games versus Columbus.
A couple of other player props on my card for tonight. Val Nichushkin has just one goal on the season, but he does have decent history against the Maple Leafs with eight goals in 14 games and has recorded four shots on goal in five of his last seven meetings with Toronto. His numbers have not been great this season overall, with only three of his seven games with 2+ shots on goal, yet his Over 1.5 shots prop tonight is at -220, which makes me wonder if someone is also aware of his numbers against Toronto.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Kirill Marchenko, William Nylander, Matthew Knies 2+ shots each (+189) – 1 unit
Kirill Marchenko anytime goal (+230) – ¼ unit
Val Nichushkin anytime goal (+300) – .10 units
Val Nichushkin 3+ shots on goal (+142) – .10 units
Matthew Knies anytime goal (+195) – .10 units
Boston Bruins at Dallas Stars
Boston (+140) at Dallas (-170) – Total 5.5 (Over, -120)
8 p.m. ET
The Bruins come into Dallas winners of five in a row as they wrap up a four-game road trip. The Stars have won two in a row and have given up two or fewer goals in six of their eight games, including three shutouts by goalie Jake Oettinger (all three of his wins).
All eight of the Stars’ games this season have gone Under the total. I could only play Boston, as Dallas at -170 on the money line is too rich for my blood. I did grab the alternate total Under (6.5) and parlayed it with the Avalanche to win on the money line.
There are some good player props for this game. David Pastrnak has had 3+ shots on goal in seven of his last nine games against the Stars and five of his last seven overall. Jason Robertson has had 3+ shots on goal in five of his last seven against the B’s and five of his last seven overall. Pasta is also riding an eight-game points streak against the Stars, while Robertson and teammate Roope Hintz have points in seven straight versus Boston. Wyatt Johnston has five goals in eight games against Boston and three goals in five games versus Jeremy Swayman.
NHL Predictions Best Bets:
Colorado Avalanche ML/Boston Bruins-Dallas Stars Under 6.5 (+210) – ½ unit
David Pastrnak/Jason Robertson 3+ shots on goal each (+122) – 1 unit
David Pastrnak/Roope Hintz/Jason Robertson point parlay (+159) – ½ unit
Wyatt Johnston anytime goal (+180) – ¼ unit
Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers – Total 6.5 (Under, -120)
Minnesota (+115) at Edmonton (-135) – Total 6.5 (Under, -120)
9 p.m. ET
After splitting a home-and-home series with Utah, the Oilers host a Minnesota team that is kicking off a five-game trip, having won six of their first nine games of the season (6-2-1). The Wild won all three meetings last season and have won four straight games in Edmonton.
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild and the NHL with 10 goals, but he has just two goals (13 assists) in 14 games against the Oilers. When it comes to lighting the lamp against the Oilers, Matt Boldy is the man. He has nine goals in 13 games against Edmonton and scored Minnesota’s first goal of the game versus the Oilers in six of the last 10 games and in three of Minnesota’s last five games this season. Joel Eriksson-Ek, the third member of the top line, has 17 points in 22 career games versus Edmonton. Second line center Danila Yurov has gotten off to a great start, with four goals in nine games (goals in back-to-back games). He had 12 goals in 73 games as a rookie last season.
Connor McDavid appears to be on a mission this season (23 points in eight games) and is on pace for 242 points. Minnesota kept him in check last season, holding him to two points (1 goal, 1 assist) in three games. McDavid is riding an eight-game assist streak (17) with five multi-assist games. McDavid has had 2+ assists versus the Wild five times in their last 10 meetings.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Vasily Podkolzin/Leon Draisaitl point parlay (-107) – ½ unit
Matt Boldy first Minnesota goal (+500) – .10 units
Matt Boldy anytime goal (+165) – ½ unit
Matt Boldy/Joel Eriksson-Ek point parlay (+118) – ½ unit
Connor McDavid/Quinn Hughes each Over ½ assist (+100) – ½ unit
Detroit Red Wings at Seattle Kraken
Detroit (-115) at Seattle (-105) – Total 6.5 (Under, -115)
9:40 p.m. ET
All 11 of these teams’ meetings have had a combined six or more goals, including the Red Wings’ 6-3 win at home over Seattle on October 9. Eight of the 11 have had 7+ goals, and five times they have combined for 8+ goals. No reason to overthink it. I grabbed the Over 6 (-134) at FanDuel, but if that’s not available, I would still play Over 6.5.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Over 6 (-134) – 3 units
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